February 23, 2026
Maximalism vs the three-dot cult
The peculiar case of Japanese web design
Japan’s jam-packed websites ignite a minimalist meltdown
TLDR: New analysis shows Japanese sites cluster as light, text-heavy designs, unlike many countries. Commenters cheered the info-dense style and dragged Western “hide-it-all” minimalism, sparking debate over usability and culture—proof that web design norms aren’t one-size-fits-all.
A data dive says Japan’s web avoids dark, empty layouts and leans bright, text-heavy pages, and the comment section went full design soap opera. The study looked at 2,671 site screenshots with AI, then floated reasons like writing systems (CJK characters), culture, and tech—cue the crowd: “Bring back the busy web!”
One camp cheered the maximalist vibe. xp84 argued it’s a feature, not a bug, blasting Western sites’ giant photos and secret menus as anti-user: the infamous three-dot (•••) button got roasted for hiding everything that isn’t boosting a company’s “KPI” (a business score). iamnothere swooned over Japan’s information-dense, yet clean look, calling it efficient compared to Chinese e-stores that “assault” shoppers with confetti popups. Meanwhile, viggity reminisced about old-school tricks—text embedded in images instead of modern styling—and said, “Not in Japan though,” marveling at how different it still is.
Others dropped receipts: klez linked a video and montenegrohugo called the post a gem. The jokes flew—“More text, fewer funnels,” “Down with the three-dot cult,” and “KPI overlords hate this one weird trick.” The real fight: is Japan’s style driven by language quirks, cultural preferences, or stubborn tech habits? The verdict’s still out, but the crowd is loud, and they’re team Dense Web.
Key Points
- •The author analyzed 2,671 screenshots of top websites worldwide using AI to cluster designs by visual similarity.
- •Clusters included globally popular sites (Google, Twitter, Facebook, Wikipedia) and common UI features like CAPTCHA and GDPR cookie pop-ups.
- •Japanese popular websites avoided empty-dark layouts, concentrating on lighter and denser designs compared to other countries.
- •The article evaluates writing systems (CJK fonts, lack of capitalization) as a possible cause, noting potential font performance implications.
- •Cultural and regional comparisons, including other CJK regions and socio-economic groupings, did not yield consistent patterns; no single cause is confirmed.